World’s largest annual airport event concludes with over 7,200 attendees

The 17^th edition of the Airport Show concluded with resounding success with more than 7,200 attendees from aviation industry worldwide. Reflecting a strong confidence in Middle East’s aviation sector and the Airport Show, more than 50 per cent of the exhibitors confirmed their participation for the next year.

Reed Exhibitions Middle East, organisers of the Airport Show, announced that Airport Show 2018 will be held from May 8-10, 2018 in Dubai.

“The aviation industry expansion in the Middle East continues to surpass average global growth rates. Future projections are equally promising and are behind the ongoing and considerable investment in aircraft, technology and infrastructure. The Airport Show brings together solution providers from around the world giving them the opportunity to explore the latest trends and bring forward innovative products and services designed to support ongoing industry growth and service enhancements,” His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, said during the opening of the show.

The 3-day world’s largest annual airport event, which concluded today, witnessed participation of over 300 exhibitors from over 50 countries.

Daniyal Qureshi, Group Exhibition Director, Reed Exhibitions Middle East, organisers for the Airport Show, said: “The unprecedented success of the Airport Show is a testament to the strong growth in the aviation industry in Middle East and the investment to the tune of billions of dollars toward expansion programmes, which are fueling global aviation growth. The collaborative opportunities approach if regional authorities and integrators with neighbouring authorities and global suppliers facilitates unparalleled opportunities. We are proud to announce that more than 50 per cent of the exhibitors have booked for the next year’s Airport Show, which will be held from May 8-10, 2018.”

The 17th edition of the Airport Show had the largest ever international representation with eight dedicated country pavilions, for global participants to showcase and launch their products, services and solutions.

The exhibitors said Airport Show 2017 helped them strengthen their existing business relations and they also received serious business enquiries.

Strong confidence

As Airport Show grew from strength to strength over the years, many exhibitors celebrated their long association with the iconic aviation event, also mirroring the opportunities generated with the strong growth of Middle East’s aviation industry .

Germany Pavillion, the largest pavilion with 34 exhibitors, celebrated the 17^th year of its participation at the Airport Show this year.

Dieter Heinz, President of German Association for Airport Technology and Equipment (GATE), founder of German Pavilion in Airport Show and an aviation industry veteran, said: “Dubai, in particular, the UAE and the Middle East, are among the most important markets for airport technology for us as they are always looking for the best technology and advanced systems. During these years of our participation at the Airport Show, there is a cooperation on both sides and the German companies have understood the requirements of the region, which they develop and bring the solutions and the technology to suit those requirements. There is a local appreciation of the quality and reliability and confidence in German technology and in our association, we have not only catered on a large scale but also for small companies.”

He added, “Airport Show is one of the most attended aviation events and the show has grown over the years. We are very happy with our association and certainly look forward to our participation in the show next year.”

Sameh Gaafar, Senior Manager, Airports & Security Europe, Middle East & Africa Information Management Services, Rockwell Collins, participating in the Airport Show for over 10 years, said: “We are participating in Airport Show for more than a decade. Bring associated with Dubai Airports and other prestigious clients in this region, we see the Airport Show as a great event which brings the best of aviation players under one roof. With a lot of new mega aviation projects coming up in the region, the outlook for the coming years is very promising and Airport Show is a place where companies get to tap into new opportunities and explore the best technologies.”

Michael Reichle, Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Postal, Parcel & Airport Logistics, said: “Siemens has been regularly participating in the Airport Show for more than 10 years now and every year we introduce new innovative technology to the show. The show has international participation and reflects the robust growth of Middle East’s aviation sector and we are glad to be a part of this growth. We see the Airport Show as a strong platform to showcase our smart technologies, and at the same time, explore the latest offerings from across the world. We look forward to our participation next year as well.”

Airport Show 2017 also provided an ideal launch pad for many exhibitors.

Oman Airport Management Company (OAMC) launched first-ever virtual reality applications for airports for the first ever time during the show.  Mohammed Al-Raisi, Technology Innovation Specialist, OAMC, said: “For the first ever time, we have recently launched four applications, two for Muscat International Airport and two for Salalah Airport. The virtual walkthrough takes you inside the airport and shows you the passenger experience from the drop off area to the gate.  The Airport Show is the best platform to introduce this technology.”

The exhibitors said the three days of the Airport Show were highly rewarding as the show involved participation of suppliers and buyers from across different sectors.

Bandar Saleh Altoaimi, General Manager Marketing, Corporate Communications and Marketing, General Authority of Civil Aviation, Saudi Arabia, said: “The reason GACA is participating is to demonstrate the airports of Saudi Arabia. We have 27 airports in Saudi Arabia. We are increasing passenger capacity of each airport, and also have new airports coming up over the next few years. One of our goals of participating in the Airport show is to meet all the supplier from different sectors whether it is security, logistics, technology or any other area and at this show we are able to meet them all under the same roof. We are finding it very useful as instead of trying to find each of these solutions at different place, we are able to find them here. Right from the first day, we had continuous meetings with serious suppliers. We have also met regulators and authorities from different parts of the world.”

Khalid Bin Ibrahim Owaida, official spokesperson for Tibah Airports Operation Company, said: “This is the first year of our participation and we are very happy with the show and our participation, particularly with the wide range of technology and products the exhibitors have brought here. We networked with industry traders and key experts from different sectors in aviation. The recently completed new terminal at the Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Airport Madinah, Saudi Arabia, is equipped with the latest technology and facilities. Since technology is constantly evolving, we are very happy to see world’s latest technologies on this platform which can enhance passenger experience. We look forward to our participation next year.”

Billed as the world’s most dynamic airport event, the Middle East’s iconic aviation industry show featured a wide line up of innovative technology products and services from over 50 countries, including Germany, China, Switzerland, France, UK and Denmark which have set up dedicated pavilions.

Showcase of latest smart technologies was cited as the major attraction by many exhibitors.

M. Ashraf Malik, Chairman, Sialkot International Airport, said: “We have been participating at the Airport Show for the last many years and like it. We are the only private airport in Pakistan and come to this show to meet industry people and also see the latest technology and products available in the market. It’s a great place to participate.”

Mr. Kez Taylor, CEO, ALEC, said: “The Airport Show is a great platform to network and explore new innovations in the aviation industry. We have been participating in the show since the beginning and find it very valuable for new business opportunities and also to strengthen our existing relationships with suppliers.”

The exhibitors said they are keen on participating in the show next year. Anwar Zhang, Marketing Manager for West Asia Region, Nuctech Company Limited, said this is the second participation of the company at the Airport Show. We will continue to participate in it. We see many industry professionals and stakeholders here. It’s nice place to connect with buyers.

 Malek Hussami, Regional Sales Manager for Middle East at Induperm A/S, said: We have been participating in the show since 2013. We find it very good. It’s always good to participate here. We see a definite improvement year on year in the show.”

Sunil Peer, Business Development Director for IT & Data Center Solutions of Middle East Region at Huawei Tech (UAE), said: “The feedback has been fantastic. There have been people from different countries who have visited from Ghana, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and other parts of GCC. This has been pretty encouraging. Good part is that people are realising that digitisation, IoT, safety, and the cloud are going to be the future of the aviation industry. Lot of appoints and MoUs have been signed with customers and now in the next 2-3 months discussions are going to take place and they are taking it as a transformation.”

Hosted Buyers

The Business Connect programme at the Airport Show, that witnessed participation from over 200 buyers from more than 50 regional authorities, provided unparalleled opportunities to the participants.

Reed Exhibitions Middle East said there were more than 1,500 meetings every day during the show.

The 17^th Airport Show was supported by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP), Dubai Airports, dnata, Supply Chain and Logistics Group (SCLG) of Middle East and UAE Contractors’ Association, alongwith with emaratech as the gold sponsor, FMT as the silver sponsor and Huawei as the ICT Partner.

4^th WTCEME concludes

The 4th World Travel Catering and Onboard Services Expo Middle East (WTCEME), concluded successfully today with exhibitors exploring new opportunities generated with the strong growth in the region’s aviation sector. 

The Middle East region commands a big chunk in the global travel catering market, estimated at $15 billion and expected to increase to $17.6 billion by 2020. The region’s share in the global travel catering market has been fast rising above the global average growth of five per cent due to massive expansion of airports and airline networks.

More than 70 exhibitors showcased a wide range of travel catering services and solutions, including food, snacks, beverages, food packaging, processing, preparation and preservation equipment, tableware and chinaware, accessories, toiletries and travel amenities at the WTCEME.

Adriano Buono, Sales Manager, Laurieri, said the exhibition was good this time. “We met a couple of people and expect business deals later-on.”

The company already supplies its products to big airlines such as Al Italia, Air France, Swiss Air Austrian Airlines, and Saudi Airlines among others.

Buono mentioned that the company will participate in this exhibition next year. This year, it was their second participation.

Another Italian company Forno Damiani showcased their signature items at the show. Rita Preziotti, Marketing Manager of Italy’ leading snacks company launched its new products at the exhibition. “We introduced a new range of seven products at the exhibition. This is our first time and the exhibition was good to connect with aviation industry people,” she said.